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CBS/ August 4, 2010, 10:05 AM

Real Reason Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston Split?

Just three weeks after announcing their surprise second engagement, Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston have reportedly split up.

The question is -- why?

It looked as if Bristol and Levi had settled down and were ready to raise their year-old son, Tripp, together, as a married couple. Now, Bristol says that's all changed and she's called off their engagement.

Pictures: Splits

CBS News National Correspondent Jeff Glor said on "The Early Show" it was a picture that was hard to believe, Levi and Bristol, back together after a year-and-a-half-long public feud. The pair, with their infant son, announced their engagement just three weeks ago in US Weekly.

Bristol told reporters, "He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him."

But not long after, Bristol told People magazine there was trouble.

Betsy Gleick, Peopl's executive editor, said to CBS News, "What Bristol told People is that, on the very day that the world learned they were going to get married, Levi came home and said to her that he may have gotten another woman pregnant."

Bristol said in People that the final straw came when Levi was spending more time trying to get a reality show than being a father. She said, "He's just obsessed with the limelight and I got played."

Gleick told "The Early Show", "Bristol is heartbroken. She described texting him and getting no answer, and then eventually she said Levi said, 'Hey, do you want to be on a reality show?"'

Bristol, however, says she wants no part of Levi's reality show plans. In a statement to People.com, her mother, Sarah Palin, even weighed in, saying, "I wish for Bristol to be able to move forward in life with her same forgiving, gracious, optimistic spirit, but from henceforth she'll know to trust but verify. Bristol is strong, she is independent, and she knows what is right for her son."

Glor added on "The Early Show" that Bristol has reportedly moved back in with her parents -- on their orders. As for Johnston, Glor reported he is shooting a music video in Los Angeles in which he plays a lover whose romance is thwarted by his girlfriend's disapproving mother.

On "The Early Show", Bonnie Fuller, editor in chief of Hollywoodlife.com, said the engagement isn't a stunt. The couple actually had a reality show on the table for $1.5 million, she said, and they walked away from the offer.

Fuller said the producer told Hollywoodlife.com that the show couldn't go forward without an entire family -- Bristol, Levi and Tripp -- on board.

"There was no interest in just Levi on his own," she said.

Fuller added the producer was very surprised by the split, saying the producer sent someone to Anchorage to talk to them, and suddenly, Fuller said, "they disappeared."

Fuller said, "Suddenly, he's off in L.A. and his people are claiming that he's got all kinds of other offers on the table."

So, is this the real end of Bristol and Levi?

Fuller said, "They are 19 and 20 years old, very young. You know, teenagers get together and break up all the time. And I think he particularly is very immature and he's in love with fame. He's in Hollywood right now, talking to people, at parties, filming a music video -- supposedly mocking her family -- though he's denying that, but he did film it."

What about Baby Tripp?

Child psychologist and "Early Show" contributor Dr. Jennifer Hartstein said, "One of the main victims is Tripp, is this little boy whose dad is in and out and in and out of his life. There is no stable presence. It's very confusing for a 19-month-old to understand what that's like. That's really going to be confusing for him down the road. ... They'll have to find positive people to be in his life to take the place (of his father)."

"Early Show" co-anchor Erica Hill pointed out Bristol told People magazine she feels trapped.

Hartstein said, "Absolutely. She's 19. She's isolated. She's working. She's taking care of this child. What friends of hers are in the same place? Who has kids like she does? She can't go out and just hang out. It's a really tough position. She's not in the same typical 19-year-old position as her girlfriends and friends may be."

Fuller added, "I think (Bristol) does feel trapped and she looked at this as an escape. The fact Levi didn't sell a show and came back into her life, she was looking to create a stable family. Then she made money by selling their engagement story to the magazine. And there was all this other money. It was an escape, a way out. Now she's moved back with her parents."

Hartstein said Bristol is looking for someone for support and help her.

She said, "Why do we always go back to old relationships? They don't always change but we go back because we know them. The devil we know is better than the devil we don't. She needs to learn to grow out of that need and be self-reliant and find the best person for her."
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved.
72 Comments Add a Comment
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redcatlove66 says:
i do feel for bristol she feels played. shes hurt and levi is a lier. he lied to her he didn't want to get back together for her and the baby he wanted a show. hope she moves on and doesn't let that loser get to her
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patycool says:
She'll marry the idiot because she is an idiot herself. 18 and a kid. What is more dumb than that...by the way I found a website that give you prizes for your opinions and 4 play online games here is the topic about Bristol: http://opinion.ezwingame.com/topics/will-bristol-palin-get-back-with-her-finace-again
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Frisky1989 says:
And Y'all want this type of drama to actually enter the White House in 2012?
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JV1970 replies:
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We do because we need a conservative Christian republican in the white house instead of the incompetent embarrassment that's in there now. We need a president who is proud of our country and won't run all over the world apologizing for it. Sarah Palin, or someone like her, is exactly who we need. Also her family is a typical American family with problems and with children who don't always do as they were taught. They are normal. It doesn't bother me that they are not as picture perfect as you liberals seem to think that our first family should be.
ge556 replies:
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It's not that the Palins are not picture-perfect. It's that Sarah Palin is uneducated, misinformed, does not keep up with current events, and still thinks she can make decisions for the country. Plus the hatred of Obama makes so many of her supporters suspect.

TruthTeller
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rf35 says:
Why did I read this? I don't care about Palin and family. I feel dumber after reading this. Even more so after reading the comments.
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JayAdler1 says:
The point is that Levi is a perpetual wise guy but there is a noticeable con man and mean streak embedded in his make up. Do not misunderstand, he is not very good at it. The person I am concerned with is Sarah Palin who indirectly and unfairly gets the hit from this guy.I am not worried about her financial potential or career as a celebrity. Sarah Palin may want to run in 2012 and having Levi around with his plans and schemes foaming at the mouth will not be of any help. I would assist him to make a move far far away.
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JV1970 replies:
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They'll have to muzzle Levi first. I expect that to happen anytime though. He will shoot off his mouth one time too many and the Palins will file suit against him and take him to court and make him prove what he says to a judge. He will then very likely have to pay them a big settlement.
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newsbarn says:
news about a couple morons, thanks for keeping me posted, this is a big deal......hahaha
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BST210 says:
Well said porcine-aviator...blaming the media, is bassinapple nuts? I agree the media should leave the children of politicians alone and that there has been some unfairness with the liberal media leaving the Clintons and Obamas kids alone, but not the Bushes,but that said..to blame the media for Bristols problems is ridiculous. The media didn't make her get pregnant, didn't make her go back to a real loser of a boyfriend, or give interviews to magazines. She did that all by herself. And if she's as independent as her mother says she is, then she should take responsibility for herself. I like Sarah Palin (too bad she didn't keep a closer eye on this kid), but Bristol sounds like a teenager who definitely wanted to embarrass her parents.
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jimatmadison says:
Gentlemen, put a knot in it or wear a raincoat.

Ladies, whatever he tells you, assume he's lying and take care of things yourself.
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slavonice says:
If Sex bristol is to be pitied, it should be because of her mum--I can see simple Sarah encouraging her to "catch" the quarterback by any means possible--Looks good for her--Falling for a geek would not do--Levi figured it out--Good for him--He could have turned out like Tood, the uber geek--
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Turbidite says:
Ma & Pa Palin ain't gonna need to use the shotgun after all.
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